Love Has No Guide Lines
by with love - Elincia
Summary: Hi, i used to be attracted to Nao, but I'm getting over her rejection. I bet trouble is going to smack me in the face, because Nao's going to help me capture the heart of the one and only, Fujino Shizuru. Cupid, you really should stop it with the arrows.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own My/Mai Hime/Otome.

A/N: Based on true events o.o lol Only a hint of NatNao, but basically, ShizNat.

--

Chp1: Prologue

"You're giving me that look again…"

I blinked. "What look?"

My redhead friend sent me a sharp glance. "That longing, lustful---"

"Okay, okay!" I hushed her hastily before she could continue. My cheeks were already pink and a guilty expression was on my face. "I was only thinking, Nao…"

She scoffed at my response and swung off the monkey bars to approach the slide I was leaning on. "What about?" Irritation was in her voice and I could spot a flicker of impatience in her eyes.

"Ano…" I scratched my head sheepishly. "You?"

Nao wasn't impressed. "You're the stupidest person I've ever met."

I winced. Ouch. "I expected to hear that from you."

This time, Nao laughed and flashed a wicked grin. "At least you know me well."

That made me feel better. "Yeah, but…" I swallowed. "I wasn't lying when I answered, you know."

Her eyes met mine. "Trust me, Natsuki. I was straight when you confessed your feelings back then and my sexual orientation remains the same." She shifted awkwardly before resorting to crossing her arms. "What the hell did you see in me anyway?" There was a frown on her lips.

"Ah. That question."

Nao rolled her eyes. "Yes. _That _question."

I searched for an answer to satisfy my friend. My mind went blank. "I don't know." A swift kick to my shin and I cursed loudly.

The redhead was pleased to see me nursing my new injury. "Considering you're an idiot, I guess I should've known your answer would've been as dumb as you."

Despite being hurt, I was grinning (with a small grimace) alongside Nao. "But I don't need to be as intelligent as a prodigy when I have you around." I watched her blink and refrained from snickering when her jaw unhinged. I dashed away to avoid another aimed kick to my legs.

"Oi, get back here, Kuga!" I didn't need to glance behind to realize she was chasing me. "I take it as an insult when someone calls me smart!"

"I only _implied _it!" I yelled back, still sprinting across the park.

Yeah, that's me. Kuga Natsuki. I harbored a serious crush on my partner-in-crime, Yuuki Nao. Obviously, I was rejected, but you know what? There was someone else to pick up the shattered pieces. I simply didn't know it yet. I didn't know when _nor _who, but this is how it all happened. How I discovered Fujino Shizuru meant more to me than I realized.

--

I was trudging up the flight of stairs toward the third floor of Fuuka Hime, an all girls high school. It so happens that my locker was way up there and my first period was in the second building far off. Yeah, I bet the staff wanted to screw my life by making it so, especially when my second period was back on the third floor too.

"Thank you, Mai, for encouraging me to exercise daily from consuming so much mayo." I heaved my insanely-heavy backpack with a grunt, not bothering to notice I was muttering to myself. "But if anyone sees an ambulance outside, you know I dialed 911."

Once arriving at the selected floor, I leaned against the wall for support briefly to regain energy. "This is why I skip classes," I grumbled. Heading towards my locker, I dropped my bag without a care and spun in the combination. I frowned when I did it incorrectly. "Doors hate me. Anything with _locks _hate me." My next attempt was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Good morning, Kuga-han."

"Eh?" Indifferently casting a glance beside me, I was mildly surprised to see one of my classmates beaming. This girl must be an early bird to be smiling so cheerfully. "Oh, good morning, Fujino-san." I nodded at her. Huh, looks like her locker is beside mine.

The honey-haired girl was in the process of emptying her bag. I scanned her over and I admit, she has a drop-dead gorgeous figure. She was wearing a purple skintight tee with a short, fluttering white skirt today. I noticed she was the innocent, pretty girl type. From first glance, that is.

"Do I have a stain somewhere?"

My gaze flew up to meet worried maroon eyes. Her sentence didn't make sense. "What?"

"You were staring," she explained, all the while hunting for the invisible dirty mark. She twirled, rather elegantly, and I struggled not to gawk when her skirt lifted far enough to offer a glimpse of…oh my goddess, where does she buy her lingerie? I must have that!

Mentally smacking myself to get a grip, I lied, "Oh no, I was only admiring your shirt. Where'd you buy it?"

"Ah," Fujino breathed out a sigh of relief. Another smile popped up and I swear, she has an endless supply of them. "My mother purchased it as a gift, but it never crossed my mind to inquire which store it was from."

A sudden shout of "Shizuru!" broke our short conversation. We both turned to meet the sight of our other classmates, Haruka and Yukino.

"Ara, I must take my leave." She bowed politely. "I shall see you in second period, Kuga-han."

"Right, see ya." I watched her approach the two and soon enough, they were enthusiastically speaking (Haruka more loudly) about goddess knows what. Suddenly, I felt that emotion named curiosity travel through my body. In my case, that was never a good sign. Particularly when that curiosity is about a person.

Fujino Shizuru.

---

A/N: Should it be continued? o.o


	2. Natsuki? Kawaii!

Ch1: Natsuki? Kawaii~

"I can't see what about Fujino you like."

Nao and I were at the cafeteria having school breakfast. I was behind in a few assignments and so was she. It was a ritual, if anything, that we would meet up at our table in the morning and work on our shit load together. Mai and our lil monster-hungry friend, Mikoto, will enter in several minutes.

It was an abrupt statement that puzzled me. "Ano… Do you have a grudge against her?"

"Psh, no!" The redhead began to tap her pencil against her math book. "But doesn't her smooth talk annoy you? Actually, she's so prim you'd think she was a robot."

I chuckled nervously. "Well, I _did _think that when I first saw her…" Before Nao could butt in, I continued, "Except she's different, Nao."

She lifted an eyebrow. "So you're saying she's not the polite girl we all take her to be," my partner-in-crime said frankly.

"Positive."

"Then she's a bitch that blackmails everyone?"

"Yea--wait, no!"

"A sex freak then?"

"What the hell, Nao?! No, that's not what I meant at all!"

"Then what's so _marvelous _about Fujino?"

Two other voices made us jump in our seats. "Oooh, Nao is jealous~ Don't you agree, Mikoto?"

"Mm! Nao should fight off the green monster, Mai!"

The redhead let out a "Hmph" before looking away with her arms crossed and I had to grin at the thought of a jealous Nao. I greeted our friends, "Hey, you guys dropped in time to listen to her nonsense." I jerked a thumb at my partner-in-crime who generously offered one of her infamous kicks. "Ow." I rubbed my wounded leg.

"I hope that bruises, Kuga."

That made me frown. "Someone woke up in the wrong end of the bed today."

"Just remember, I woke up in _my _bed and not yours."

"Okay, okay," Mai separated us by dragging a nearby chair and sitting in the middle. "Now, how about we---oh my god, Mikoto don't eat that fish! It's fake!"

The younger girl blinked, spat the fish out, and cocked her head to the side. "Is that why it tastes funny?" We all stared down at the table where a rubber fish without its tail laid. Holy mother of mayo, is her teeth _that_ strong?! I pity Mai for having to deal with a chomper like Mikoto everyday.

"Never mind," my busty friend sighed, smacking her forehead. "It's not like you haven't eaten worse, so I'm sure you can…digest that." She made a face.

"Where did that toy fish come from anyway?" Nao asked, disgusted by what transpired. There was saliva all over the poor rubber fishy.

"…" We waited for an answer.

"I don't know," Mai finally responded. "Mikoto has her ways, though." Our time together was disrupted by the bell. "Aw, well c'mon! Natsuki and I will see you two later!" My best friend dragged me by the arm to class so I had no choice but to follow.

---

I can't remember what happened in first period. I think Mai was poking me. I'm certain she wanted to inform me with a piece of news, but I decided it could wait until lunch. Currently in second period, I was finding it difficult to breathe and my hands were gripping onto my knees tightly. My back was rigid and Yukino, one of Fujino's best friends, was seated next to me so I endeavored not to light the fire of any suspicion.

Fujino sat in front of me. Her pencil had dropped and she was leaning forward across her desk to reach for it. Ultimately…

Her nicely-shaped ass was directly in my view.

I bit my lip to contain a whimper. How could denims hug her hips so well? Breathe in, breathe out--Oh, no. My eyes bulged when she bent farther and the hem of her panties revealed themselves. My mouth chose that moment to be ajar.

"Shizuru, your pants!" Yukino's soft voice snapped me out of my trance. I averted my eyes quickly to my paper.

"Ara… Ookini, Yukino-chan!" There was a shift of weight in her chair so it was safe to assume Fujino had retrieved her pencil and fixed her jeans.

I exhaled a deep breath. Our instructor brought us into attention.

"Ok, class!" said Midori-sensei. "Get out your logbooks. Each of you are going to interview another classmate." She paused. "One condition, the classmate must have more differences than similarities if you two were to be compared." Our teacher clapped her hands together. "You'll be timed, so hurry up!"

"That sounds easy enough…" I was about to head for Akane's direction until claret eyes froze me in place.

"Be my partner, Kuga-han?"

How could I say no? Calming my nerves, I slowly nodded and said, "Sure." I flipped through the pages of my logbook and hesitantly asked, "You wanna go first?" She gave a smile and answered yes. So long as I focus on this assignment and not on the image of her panties, I'll be a-okay. I began, "So, what do others think when they see you?"

"Ara… I presume they distinguish me as a goody two shoes, a teacher's pet, an intelligent student, and purely a happy, beautiful girl with no worries. My eyes, natural they may be yet also uncommon, catch others off guard." Since she was turned around in her seat, Fujino had her arms on top of my desk with her head prompted on a manicured hand. She waited patiently for me to write this all down. "And you, Kuga-han?"

I glanced at her. Don't even _imagine _her panties again, Kuga. "Unsocial, aloof, cold, and…" A flicker of a smile. "A lone wolf."

Fujino was curious. "You smile at that?"

My cheeks burned lightly. "I like wolves." Her laughter made me warm.

"I must say, you forgot one more aspect that others think when they see you." She noted my questioning look. "You're cute," she said with her own roguish grin. One finger tapped my paper. "Be sure to write that down." Fujino giggled at my bafflement.

---

I was still feeling bubbly from my interaction with Fujino. I was halfway finished with my lunch and Nao was ranting off about her history teacher. Mikoto was gulping down her food while Mai was fumbling around her bag.

"Oi, did anyone hear what I just said about my homework-loving-teacher?" Nao demanded.

I sniggered but soon became horrified when Mai materialized a shopping bag out of nowhere. On the front was a post-it that said in bold letters: TO NATSUKI! My best friend would always grab some outlandish _thing _for me and I wasn't very eager for this surprise. "Tokiha, you better keep that away from me!"

"But this is going to help you with your love crisis, Natsuki!" she beamed, smacking Mikoto's hand that was reaching for someone else's lunch. "You know how you get all stupid and speechless when Fujino-san strikes up a conversation with you?"

I glared at her. There goes my good mood. "Do you have to word it like that?"

Nao stood up to rummage through the shopping bag. "Hey, she only bought you one lil thing." She pulled out a shirt and we both stared at it inquisitively. Once the redhead unfolded it, the words in front literally made me scream.

"Where in this friggin planet did you find _that_?!"

The shirt said, "Lez-be-frenz ;)" while the outline of a woman who appeared as a pole dancer was underneath it. What would Fujino say to that?

Mai giggled. I am over one hundred percent sure she found my reaction comical. "Look at it this way. The shirt speaks for itself and it's straight to the point, plus simple." She ruffled Mikoto's hair who had a bright smile. "Thank our hyper-hungry-friend for uncovering it. Nao also suggested the store. I bought it too."

I slumped in my seat. "You all pitched in…to get me a shirt I will most likely not wear at all."

Nao grinned impishly. "Ah, not likely to wear but still possible."

The evil spark in Mai's eyes made me tense. "You will wear it or I won't bring my bottle of mayo for a whole month."

"Don't be cruel!" I sighed, defeated, when she remained unyielding. "Fine… I'll think about it."

Lez-be-frenz, Fujino?

She'll kill me! A voice in my head was optimistic, 'Hey, at least she thinks you're cute.'

Yeah, show me mercy, please.

--

A/N: This was actually supposed to be da 2nd chp! But it made more sense to be da 1st XD Yes, dat means I hav da nxt chp ready :P I'll think about when to post it, mwuahaha.


	3. Love Doctor

A/N: I'm sorry, I deleted the original CH2 cuz I found its pace too fast 4 da story. I hope u all forgive me & lyk the new one, rite hur. Plz give feedback, thx!

---

CH2: Love Doctor

---

"Stop staring at her, Natsuki!" Mai whacked me on the head.

"Ow, MAI!" She sent me a stern look that said 'don't-you-dare-talk-back' so all I could do was sigh and slump in my seat.

It was lunch time and we were at our regular table in the cafeteria. Fujino was only two tables further but my gaze was turned away because of Mai's exasperation. After all, if I upset her then she wouldn't let me have one more month to rethink my decision on wearing the Lez-be-frenz shirt. Geez, the things I do for mayo…

"Hey, Tsuki!" Nao shouted, using my nickname as she approached with her teriyaki. "How's the stalking going?" She grabbed a seat next to me with a smirk.

I narrowed my eyes. "I am not stal---"

"Tell me what she's wearing."

Before I could stop myself, I automatically answered, "Red shorts that show off her smooth legs and a very nice white shirt that reveals her cleavage and shit, I fell for it, didn't I?"

Nao snickered while Mai shook her head sadly. "Oh Natsuki, what are we going to do with your lesbian ass?"

I spluttered, " N-nani, just shut up, Mai!" Honestly when she says things like _that_, anyone would be at a lost for words.

Mikoto, who had been too busy chewing on her lunch earlier, innocently suggested, "Maybe Tsuki needs love advice."

There was a few moments of silence before the other two burst out laughing. I frowned and indignantly crossed my arms. "I don't need love advice."

"Denial!" Nao pointed an accusing finger at me. I slapped it away with a roll of my eyes.

Mai grinned and I knew something bad was coming. "Ok. As my duty for being your best friend, Natsuki…" She suddenly clamped one hand on Nao's shoulder. "I hereby dub Nao as your official matchmaker!"

"NANI?!" I somehow fell off my seat from my loud protest. They all peered at me with amused expressions. "Don't," I warned from the ground, "laugh at me." Guess what they did?

They pointed _and _laughed.

---

After being kicked out of the cafeteria by my own best friend and our food bin, Mikoto, I was then dragged up to the third floor by Nao.

"Remember, don't come off too strongly but don't come off too weakly either."

We were now sitting against a row of lockers. "What do you mean by that?" I asked, shifting uncomfortably. I might as well make my matchmaker of use, yet receiving love advice was still weird.

"Well…" She paused, thinking for a second. "Don't grope her and don't simply say 'hi' like you usually do. Try smiling!"

I face-palmed. "I never _touch _her, plus I do smile!"

Nao glanced at me skeptically. "Uh huh." Before I could retort, she continued nonchalantly, "Try not to put up a cold front because she'll think you're not interested and want nothing to do with her." She poked my side, smirking again when I stifled a squeak to glare at her. "Plus, make sure you _both _talk. Don't ramble so let her say a few words too."

The bell rang as if on cue. Time to see Fujino in class.

My partner-in-crime tried not to laugh at my dazed expression. "That's enough _love _lessons for you today," she emphasized 'love' in a teasing way. "Now make your master proud, pup!"

---

I was trying to remember what Nao told me. I couldn't think while I walked to class so I gave up and blamed it on being nervous. It hadn't been two minutes when I arrived to class but I decided I'd use the time left over to calm down. Nodding to myself, I confidently opened the door and entered to see…

"Ara, hello there, Kuga-san," she beamed from our teacher's book shelf.

I froze mid-way.

_Try smiling!_ Nao's voice yelled in my head.

I swallowed. "H-hi, Fujino-san…" I slowly walked into class and tentatively smiled, the door closing behind me softly. "Ano, where's Midori-sensei?" I noticed several piles of books surrounding her and I assumed she was rearranging them for our teacher.

Shizuru reminded me, "She doesn't appear until five minutes after the bell when all of the students should be here already." Her eyes spotted my immediate blush and she smiled again. "After I eat lunch, I go here whenever I have time since Midori-sensei kindly allows me to stay."

"I see…" Lame response, Kuga! Hurriedly, I walked a short distance towards my seat and threw my backpack onto its desk. "Here, lemme help you."

"Ookini, that would be much appreciated."

We worked silently except for a few sheepish 'Where should I put this?' and cheerful 'Over here, please' between us. I couldn't help but sneak glimpses at her. No longer than a minute later, our hands brushed each other while reaching for the same book.

"Oh, you can take that and place it over there," she told me.

"A-alright." As I obeyed, I gathered the courage to ask, "Fujino-san, why are you extra…_happy _today?"

From the looks of it, she was startled by my question. "Ara, you noticed?" At my hesitant nod, she crossed her arms behind her back with a sweet smile on her face and said, "My best friends Haruka and Yukino…they're finally together."

I blinked. That was unexpected. "Together?"

"Yes." She picked up a book, inspecting its cover before placing it on the shelf. "They were obviously attracted to one another yet it took me forever to help them both realize it." Shizuru turned her head to the side, winking at me. "Haruka can be oblivious at times and blinded by pride."

I stayed quiet, letting the information process, before inquiring, "How about you?"

Shizuru chuckled before smiling charmingly. "What about me?"

I shrugged, ignoring the pounding of my heart and stared at the wall beside me casually. "Do you like girls?"

I thought she wouldn't answer until I felt breathing on my neck. She had walked towards me and now her lips were at my ear.

"I think…Kuga-san should find out for herself."

When she pulled away, there was a crafty smile on her lips. I managed to close my mouth that had been ajar but I could tell I was blushing after she giggled.

The door abruptly opened. Groups of students began to file in and random conversations flowed from here to there. My brain began to function properly again. "Ok, what just happened…?" I muttered to myself. I glanced up; the clock said Midori-sensei would return soon.

"Kuga-san?"

I faced Shizuru. "Yeah?" The noise of our classmates might as well have been underwater since I could barely register it now.

"It was nice to see you smile today." Her crimson gaze was genuine.

Nao's advice popped into my head. "You too," I replied with another awkward smile, hoping all the while it was a decent response. I guess those love lessons were worth listening to after all.


	4. Our Tsuki has Bad Luck

CH3: If Luck exists, then our Tsuki has Bad Luck

* * *

"Ugh, I'm underwater!" I buried my head into my arms on our table.

Mai watched me sympathetically. Nao, on the other hand, snickered. "No, you're breathing air, Tsuki." She decided to add with a smirk, "Though if you _do _want to be underwater, give me a call so that I can shove your lesbian ass into a lake."

I peered up to give her my own glare. "I am _underwater_," I repeated.

Mai just patted my head. "Natsuki means that whenever Shizuru-san is near, she feels like she's breathing underwater."

I nodded, but whacked Mai's hand away when it tried to ruffle my hair again. "I bumped into her earlier…" I couldn't continue my sentence.

Nao raised an eyebrow. "And said hi?"

"No," I answered curtly, turning my head to the side.

When the redhead looked to my best friend for the story, Mai sighed. "We were walking together upstairs when we saw Shizuru-san coming our way. She waved at us, but Natsuki was as stiff as a board!"

I said in a hushed voice, "She saw us holding hands!" I was still aghast.

Mai rolled her eyes. "She saw me dragging you by the arm, that's what she saw." My best friend returned to the story. "Well, I greeted her good morning, but Tsuki just mumbled a hello. Shizuru-san seemed like she wanted to talk more since she was lingering…I guess Natsuki's reply shot that down, so she left."

I couldn't stand it when they both gave me disapproving stares. "I'll talk to her later!" Where was Mikoto? I needed a distraction. "We have class soon. I'll see her then, ok?"

Mai placed a hand on Nao's shoulder, the latter nodding in silent communication. "Natsuki, you are in need of another lesson."

I frowned. "Really, last time wasn't enough?"

"Hey, you said there was progress!" Nao defended. "Anyway, here's a camera."

I eyed her in suspicion. "What's that for?"

"Stalking," she replied simply, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

I sweat dropped. "I'm Kuga Natsuki, I do not stalk."

"Fine, if you don't feel like being a ninja for a day… We can send her photos of you posing instead!"

"Are you insane!" I slammed my palm down on our table. "That's outrageous!"

Nao leaned back in her chair. "Serenade her then? Bad Romance by Lady Gaga.'"

A split second passed, a weird image popping up, before we all burst out laughing. I couldn't believe my partner-in-crime suggested that idea. "Really Nao, _really_?" I shook my head in disbelief.

"Of course, I could always get you another shirt," Mai sang.

That stole my attention. "Say what?" I asked sharply. I didn't know she was joking until the two laughed again.

"A flower?" Nao proposed, actually being reasonable for once.

Mai answered before I could respond, "Oh no, no, no, NO! Do you want to know the last time Natsuki gave another girl flowers?"

I paled. "Mai, don't tell her!" I sent her a pleading look. Unfortunately, my presence didn't exist anymore since they were in 'story-time-mode.'

"So Tsuki thought wild flowers were more lovely than what's bought in stores, right? She picked some out, which took quite awhile if you can imagine Tsuki in a field of flowers." Mai and Nao shared a grin. "Everything was perfect! Sad part was that when Tsuki gave the flowers to her crush…"

"Her crush didn't like them?" Nao guessed.

"Haha, I think that would've been better, but no, her crush got stung in the face by a bee."

"NANI?" That was clearly Nao and she cackled afterwards (like one of those evil witches you wish you could slap). Mai soon joined in, partly because of the story she told and partially because Nao's crazy laughter was hilarious itself.

I rubbed my face, groaning when the heat from my cheeks grew. "Stupid cupid," I muttered.

* * *

Released at last by two crazy people, I went to fetch my belongings on the third floor.

"Lone wolf, was it?"

Shizuru appeared beside me out of nowhere. I accidentally yanked on the book I was retrieving from my locker, thus hitting my head. "Ouch!" I winced.

"Ara! Does it hurt much?" A hand on my arm and another cupping my cheek to turn my head towards her. "Kannin na, I didn't mean to alarm you."

"It's alright, Fujino-san," I assured her, doing my best to keep from stammering since her eyes were gazing at me with more intent than I could handle. As casually as I could, I pulled out of her hold and closed my locker before spinning the lock. Stupid textbook attacked me and made me look like an idiot!

"Here, this is for you."

I stopped scowling at my locker, instead I blinked at Shizuru. "Twix?" I asked, bewildered. She approached me because of candy?

"From Mai-san," she explained, "I promised her I'd give this to you when I had the chance."

I hesitantly took the candy bar from outstretched hands. "Arigatou, you should've just told her to stop being lazy." At the back of my mind, I knew there was something going on here. Mai was plotting and this Twix was key to her plan.

"I'll see you later, then," Shizuru called over her shoulder as she walked away.

I waved reluctantly, tongue-tied, and glumly returned to my Twix. Hm, candy always makes me feel better after being in an embarrassing situation. "Oh well," I shrugged, "Might as well eat." Tearing the wrapper, I proceeded to pull one Twix out before biting off a huge chunk. Rawr, me dinosaur.

"Kuga-san!" Shizuru popped back around the corner, startling me. "I forgot to ask you, but do you have origami paper? Mai-san told me you did."

I opened my mouth to reply except I was unable to make coherent sentences since I hadn't chewed the rest of my Twix. Mentally knocking my head, I hid my mouth with one hand while trying to talk with a mouthful of chocolate. Puzzlement crossed Shizuru's face as "mm wef ma om!" came out my mouth. Oh man, who knew Twix-moments were real?

"Don't mind me Kuga-san. I'll wait for you to finish." She smiled politely and I didn't know if I should be grateful or not for the amusement in her eyes.

I nodded vigorously, chewing and swallowing repeatedly before making sure I had no candy left. Licking my teeth in case I had anything stuck, I exhaled deeply and looked at Shizuru apologetically. "Sorry you had to see that."

"It's not a problem. About the origami paper…?"

"Yeah, I have some in my bag. I usually carry it for Mikoto." Digging into my backpack, I handed her the small stack of colorful paper.

"Ookini," she beamed. There was a pause as she accepted the origami paper. "Would you like to walk to class together? The bell will ring in a minute."

I felt a rush. Did my heart just soar? Yes, I think it did. Best part, this time there was no Twix moment to stop me from answering.

* * *

Then again, I really should stop checking her out.

"Too short." Did I say that out loud?

"Pardon?" Fujino looked behind to see me staring.

"Oh!" I twirled my now-small pencil in front of me with a sheepish smile. "I may have killed it this week." I was relieved when she laughed and turned back in her seat. In truth, I meant her _skirt _was too short, not my pencil.

Our class had earned a day for being good last time we had a substitute. Midori-sensei gave us the options, movie or free time. We chose both, although I don't know how the people watching the movie can hear it when we're being this loud. Shizuru was making origami at her desk while I was finishing up late work for another class. My friend, Chie, was yelling at me from across the room to join them in a game of cards.

I cursed mentally at my worksheet and dropped my pencil in defeat. I was about to head towards Chie when Shizuru turned once more to speak to me. I was leaning forward since I was in the process of getting out of my seat, so our faces had little room between them. My cheeks flushed when I noticed her eyes more clearly. Dear goddess, she's beautiful.

"Kuga-san?"

Her voice snapped me back into reality. "I need to use the bathroom," I said hastily, moving away, "I'll be right back." Thankfully, Midori-sensei had no problem handing me a pass. I seriously needed to splash my face in cold water. What I didn't expect, was a follower.

"Kuga-san, wait."

I had already entered the school's bathroom, so I was temporarily confused until my brain recognized the voice and I whipped around to meet Shizuru. "Why are you here?" I blurted.

She was taken aback at my reaction. Her arms wrapped themselves right below her chest. "If you must know, my bra needs fixing." I missed the pink tinge on her cheeks.

My jaw dropped. Stuttering, I tried to make gestures but I ended up saying, "W-wait, ano, how? Why?" My mind was in a daze.

"Ara… This isn't the first time, but it only happens when I twist abruptly." She sent a helpless smile. "I'll have to go to the mall. I may have grown a size." I didn't know what to say, so I was glad when she inquired, "Could you assist me, please?"

I still couldn't think straight. "Yeah, sure." The moment she turned around and pulled her shirt over her head, my eyes bulged. I immediately spotted where the bra had unclipped. "You wanted help with _this_?" I exclaimed, a furious blush overtaking me.

Shizuru wasn't unfazed by my outburst, despite haven't ever seen me act any other way than quiet. In fact, she giggled. "Kuga-san, Midori-sensei will have suspicions if we do not return soon."

I blinked, momentarily forgetting about the wonderful view of Fujino Shizuru's backside. "Right…" At least she was facing away, so it's not totally embarrassing to touch her like this. Tentatively reaching out, I slowly fixed her bra, watching how it pulled together as I clasped it and wondering how it would look if I had a view of Shizuru's front instead.

"You asked if I liked girls." Shizuru lowered her shirt when I was finished. "Can I ask you a question?"

I was caught off guard by the turn of events. "No one's stopping you," I said, suddenly feeling awkward. She faced me now and I was back underwater. Oh, if I was a mermaid…

"Are you and Mai-san dating?"

Whatever I was expecting, it certainly wasn't that. My mind first went blank before I responded, "What, you mean my best friend? _That _Mai?" I grew incredulous. This brought a mysterious gleam in Shizuru's eyes, but she was still waiting for a solid answer. "No," I finally let out, "I'm single."

She nodded, lingering like she had done this morning. "In that case, Kuga-san, to your question from earlier this week… My answer is yes." Shizuru sauntered towards the bathroom exit. "I do like girls."


End file.
